Was Jolly old St. nick a druggie?

[bomekked]

Flying reindeer and glowing red noses??? need I say more?

[Kit]

I'm not sure that Santa himself originally claimed the existence of red nosed flying reindeer - this has been reported by observers (who may or may not have been under the influence of sherry and mince pies at the time.) However, he probably goes along with it to avoid having to explain the very complex lawas of physics under which he operates - see http://home.uchicago.edu/~rascalzo/arch/palace/lib
rary/humor-tech/santa-physics.html

[Gigadave]

I heard on a TV program the other day that the Santa myth may be based on magic mushroom consumption! (the fly agaric mushroom, hence the red and white of santas outfit). In the winter, reindeers search out and eat these mushrooms, which are highly toxic to us. The natives figured out that by drinking reindeer urine, they would get all the effects from the mushrooms. This would explain the whole Reindeers flying thing... seems pretty plausible with a headful of shrooms!

[mikewith]

Just a note on Gigadave's mention of the red and white outfit - nothjing to do with mushrooms, this actually dates back to a series of advertisements for Coca-Cola, in which Santaa was dressed in corporate colours... Spooky!